This is one of those movies where the story is the dominate driving force as it is fresh and fascinating at the same time. We are introduced to a new type of horror that quite frankly I am surprised didn't get more fame and exposure over the years since this movie was made. This entity is a force to be reckoned with and apparently very powerful but like anything that has life also has weakness. The movie at some point poses this to the viewer. How do you stop this thing? We are entertained for two hours with the answer and it doesn't disappoint. Vincent Price allows us to accept more of the concept because of his casting and of course his fine acting skills. I read the short story and it too has this way of pulling you into a premise that is strangely familiar i.e. a haunting feeling of not being alone when you are. That concept alone causes goosebumps and over the shoulder activity. Welcome to the world of the Horla when this happens. The book builds up to it as does the movie. What we all want to know after watching this is where does the Horla come from, what does it want, and can we ever be rid of it? Furthermore, following the premise of the Horla made me do it, we remain pawns of desperation when trying to explain how we were involved in something horrific and against our natures but the evidence clearly shows that it was us much to the Horlas delight. That is shown quite well in this movie's first few minutes when only through a dying mans confession are we told about his innocence and horror at the same time. The chills come in when its your turn to try to explain the same thing thus the Diary is used to communicate what took place. But then, is it the ravings of a madman or a prediction and testimony of what took place and what is to come. The answer awaits! Have a tasty drink and pay attention with no cell phones or interruptions. BTW...if you sense something in the room that isn't there while you are watching, perhaps you are not alone? Enjoy

This film really needed a little more something - maybe a quicker pace? It does drag on in places for way to long. Now don't get me wrong it is worth watching and mainly for Vincent Price. Price is the biggest draw or attraction in this film, but then again he is for all his films. Price drives this film while the others in the film pale in comparison and are a bore to watch.It is exactly the way the synopsis reads: Simon Cordier (Price), a sculptor possessed by an evil invisible spirit, hires a model to pose for him then learns thereafter that she has been brutally murdered.I can say there is an invisible man, a spirit of sorts, that haunts Simon Cordier (Price). If that sounds interesting then you might like the film.7/10

This is a Vincent Price vehicle that is loosely based on a Guy De Maupassant short story. The setup is eerie, speaking of how dark spiritual beings exist in our world, unseen by human eyes. "The Horla" is one such unseen supernatural being, one which has power over the minds of men and the natural world. Unfortunately, the film's pacing becomes quite grating by the end (was it really only 97 minutes?) and ends with some fairly predictable '50s/'60s cheesy horror.In this tale, Price plays Simon Cordier, a magistrate in a French court in the late 19th century. When the magistrate has one final conversation with a prisoner convicted of multiple murders, the man tells Cordier that he did not commit the murders, but was compelled to by some unspeakable evil entity (the Horla) which took control of his mind and body. Then, for some reason or another, the Horla begins to stalk Cordier (it's rather clumsily presented, but it works). Fearing for his sanity, Cordier takes a vacation from his work and takes up his old hobby of sculpting, which leads him to encounter the model and enchanting muse, Odette (Nancy Kovak). And it is here that the Horla begins to work his magic on Simon Cordier. The Horla plays the devil's advocate, blackmailing Cordier into following his weakest urges.A lot of Vincent Price films operated within a spectrum of horror-comedy, which is not to say that they were exactly funny, but had such an offbeat attitude it made them simultaneously amusing and creepy. Some of those vibes can be found here, and a number of Price's lines and expressions are totally charming (such as when he's smooth-talking Odette for the first time). And the way some of the "philosophical" ideas were presented -- they were so blunt it was comedic. I don't know if that much was intentional, but it did give the movie some color.But at the same time the plot, characters and story are all too simple for how long the film runs. And the villain or mysterious antagonist, the "Horla", becomes pretty lame by the end. He gets reduced to the sort of unimaginative pseudo-science-fiction horror that filled out B-movies in the '50s and '60s. The typical spiritual/philosophical elements which litter "mystical horror" stories are here either cliché (the crucifix is able to ward off evil... again!) or just boring (the conversations with the Police Chief about whether or not criminals are born evil). And my other main criticism is that the film would be pretty terrible without Vincent Price in the lead role. Only Price carries the film by the end."Diary of a Madman" was a decent distraction for a lazy afternoon, but not a film that I'd watch again. Vincent Price has done some really excellent stuff, but this isn't one of his necessary works.

Vincent Price lends his always welcome presence to this routine ghost-possession story. It's adapted from two stories by Maupassant 'The Horla' and 'Diary of a Madman' that are somewhat mashed together. Not a bad mashing, but still this is well-worn territory. It certainly looks good and has a rousing romantic-horror score by Richard LaSalle that helps immeasurably, but it's flatly directed and features a terrible performance by Chris Warfield as the unjustly accused painter in love with pretty Nancy Kovack. The Horla is voiced by Joseph Ruskin with the declarative timbre of a radio announcer, sounding less the slithery voice of evil you'd expect or desire and more the voice of advertising, or even the doom-laden boom of the "Control Voice" from 'The Outer Limits.' And the green light-band on the eyes is a cheap effect, but even it would be acceptable if the desires of the Horla were a little more interesting than breaking up Price's relationship just to prove the woman is greedy (one would expect the mis-use of Price's position as magistrate would be the real interest of the Horla). But overall the film is competently made and does have the shock effect of the ultimate disposition of Kovack's head. Otherwise it's not bloody or clumsily handled. Certainly not a bad film to spend time with, especially for devotees of pre-Seventies horror films.